Mandatory lunch break in federal job?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the answers--I had no idea this was such a thorny issue. It seems like assuming a required 30 minute lunch is a safe bet. It makes things difficult as a parent when childcare is only 8am-6pm, it takes almost an hour to get to work, then can't leave until 5:30. I'd much rather bring my lunch and eat at my desk while working so I can leave at 5pm!

Yes, very stressful esp with traffic and weather delays in this area. I'd look for childcare starting earlier, ideally 7 am or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to change the topic, but my agency provides 2 15-minute paid breaks, and I think many others do. Does your agency enforce taking those breaks? One of my friends at another agency combines those to "cover" the unpaid 30 minute lunch, which isn't allowed per se but she says everyone does it.

Your friend is commiting time card fraud.

I don't know if it's the same poster doing this, but someone is throwing out the "fraud" word very liberally, which is different from non-compliance with T&A policy.

Fraud is the intentional misreporting of time to the government in order to gain unearned benefit. Coming into the office for 1 hour and charging 8 hours is clear fraud. Not working on a telework day is fraud. Charging 3 hrs OT when leaving after 8 hours is fraud. I get that.

Performing work at the wrong time per policy, however, isn't a clear case of fraud. The key distinction is work being performed. The IG is after people who are charging time and not working. If you are working and have evidence of work being performed, timecard fraud is not going to be the conclusion.

Also, for all the people working through lunch and not reporting the time, isn't that technically timecard fraud? Isn't it illegal to work for free for the government?

Bottom line: report your time accuracy and in a manner that can be justified and you'll be fine.

No. you can work as much extra as you want to. You cannot leave before 8.5 hours. We need very senior approval for overtime. I've never gotten it in 10 years as a fed.

In my agency, underreporting time is a major no-no. It sets up unrealistic expectations for workloads and leads to performance management issues. For example, if an employee is routinely working unreported OT, they may increase their productivity and get a higher performance rating than an employee following their defined schedule, creating an unfair playing field. Our leadership tells us fairly often that we need to report all our time. OT has to be pre-approved, but supervisors are held accountable why employees can't get their work done in their defined schedule. Plus it's also an FLSA violation to work off the clock if you are non-exempt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a 30 minute break built into our schedules, but nobody enforces it. If I have to work through my lunch break, I leave after 8 hours. I'm not going to work 8.5 hours and get paid for 8. Most days I get my lunch break but some days it just doesn't happen.

This is clear time card fraud and is incredibly easy to fire for. Watch out. All it takes is the new administration pulling computer logs or time card logs

No it is not. Working 8 hour and charging 8 hours isn't called fraud; it's called accuracy. What are you talking about?

Technically, you are required to take the 30 minutes and are not allowed to leave after 8 hours, but I certainly wouldn't worry about time card fraud.

Pp here. I've seen it. I work on investigations.

We're wasting federal dollars investigating whether people take lunch? Hilarious

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A friend works for the federal government and told me she’s required to take a 45 minute lunch break, e.g., her hours for an 8 hour day are not 9am-5pm but 9am-5:45pm. Is this true for all federal agencies? I am considering a job at DOT and planning childcare.

Actually it is still 30 mins for an 8 hour day.
It is required but only asshole managers enforce it. Including my manager.
Even though I work through lunch most of the time I still stay the extra 30 mins .
But I get paid good money so there is that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a 30 minute break built into our schedules, but nobody enforces it. If I have to work through my lunch break, I leave after 8 hours. I'm not going to work 8.5 hours and get paid for 8. Most days I get my lunch break but some days it just doesn't happen.

This is clear time card fraud and is incredibly easy to fire for. Watch out. All it takes is the new administration pulling computer logs or time card logs

No it is not. Working 8 hour and charging 8 hours isn't called fraud; it's called accuracy. What are you talking about?

Technically, you are required to take the 30 minutes and are not allowed to leave after 8 hours, but I certainly wouldn't worry about time card fraud.

Pp here. I've seen it. I work on investigations.

We're wasting federal dollars investigating whether people take lunch? Hilarious

They pull records when something else is going on and they can't prove it. This is something easy.

[Anonymous]

It's not a federal government issue. Any work shift of 6 hours or more has to offer a 30 minute "lunch" break (doesn't have to be at lunch) and those 30 minutes don't need to be paid. Workers must also have a 15 minute paid break for every 4 hours worked. So an 8 hour shift requires two 15 minute paid breaks and one 30 minute unpaid break. There are rules around when those breaks can happen so that you don't just bundle it together and leave an hour early.

Have you all never held a non-exempt job?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not a federal government issue. Any work shift of 6 hours or more has to offer a 30 minute "lunch" break (doesn't have to be at lunch) and those 30 minutes don't need to be paid. Workers must also have a 15 minute paid break for every 4 hours worked. So an 8 hour shift requires two 15 minute paid breaks and one 30 minute unpaid break. There are rules around when those breaks can happen so that you don't just bundle it together and leave an hour early.

Have you all never held a non-exempt job?

The FLSA does not require meal or rest breaks. Those would be governed by state law and every state is different. So it's not relevant whether someone has been non-exempt before since the laws vary so much.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/meal-rest-breaks-rights-employee-29773.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend works for the federal government and told me she’s required to take a 45 minute lunch break, e.g., her hours for an 8 hour day are not 9am-5pm but 9am-5:45pm. Is this true for all federal agencies? I am considering a job at DOT and planning childcare.

Actually it is still 30 mins for an 8 hour day.
It is required but only asshole managers enforce it. Including my manager.
Even though I work through lunch most of the time I still stay the extra 30 mins .
But I get paid good money so there is that

It’s 45 minutes in my agency and others. In my experience everyone enforces it, not just “asshole” managers.

[Anonymous]

And your manager isn’t an asshole for following the rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a 30 minute break built into our schedules, but nobody enforces it. If I have to work through my lunch break, I leave after 8 hours. I'm not going to work 8.5 hours and get paid for 8. Most days I get my lunch break but some days it just doesn't happen.

This is clear time card fraud and is incredibly easy to fire for. Watch out. All it takes is the new administration pulling computer logs or time card logs

No it is not. Working 8 hour and charging 8 hours isn't called fraud; it's called accuracy. What are you talking about?

Technically, you are required to take the 30 minutes and are not allowed to leave after 8 hours, but I certainly wouldn't worry about time card fraud.

Pp here. I've seen it. I work on investigations.

We're wasting federal dollars investigating whether people take lunch? Hilarious

Seriously. It is why I hate this fixation on the clock. You aren't treated as a professional. It's not about getting your job done. All that matters is you have worked exactly 8.5 hrs a day. No benefit for those that are actually fast workers.

[Anonymous]

Yes! It is so annoying! At State 45 min was built in. At DOD, we took a full hour I think, but we may have been folding the breaks in the lunch, I don't recall. Honestly it is so annoying. I do like the break but not sure it's a true benefit when it is unpaid and ultimately takes time away from my family and adds to my stress and commute. I'd love to work 9-5. 9-6 is a long day for my little one in daycare, just so I can have lunch. I see the purpose of a mandatory break but it's annoying!

[Anonymous]

We have 30 mins and we have to go between 1100 - 1300.

[Anonymous]

I work for local government but not Fed. I work a 12 hour day and get a 1 hour paid lunch break and 2 15 min breaks. I very rarely take the 15 min breaks but always take the lunch break. We can take our break at the end of our shift only in extreme circumstances. Like if we get snow tomorrow I could ask to take my break at the end so I can get a head start home.
But it is a paid break anyway I work from 6-6 and get paid for 12 hours incl the break.
Probably dont get paid as much as some of you though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes but not enforced.

They track every minute at my agency.
They don't actually make you take the break but they make sure you are actively logged into your computer for at least 8 hours and 30 minutes (and only pay for 8 hours). In other words... if you are only logged into the computer for 8 hours and you say you worked 8 hours that day... they that is considered timecard fraud because the mandatory lunch break means you only worked 7 hours and 30 minutes.

[Anonymous]

If you choose to work through lunch at my agency, you don't get to leave half an hour early.

For the OP, do not bet on being able to leave early just because you choose not to eat lunch. There are rules and there is a reason to have them. For those of you who roll your eyes, you are lucky to work in a world where you can do that. The majority of the working world has these rules you find so petty.